Seaweed Bacon Company Secures $3.8 Million Funding to Fuel Retail Expansion and Innovation

Written by the VEGPRENEUR team

Berkeley, California, March 7 – Umaro Foods, a trailblazer in sustainable food innovation, has announced a significant milestone with the successful securing of $3.8 million in new financing. This achievement comes hot on the heels of a remarkable sixfold growth in sales, positioning Umaro Foods as a leader in the ever-evolving landscape of seaweed-based products. With the infusion of new capital, the company is set to embark on a strategic retail expansion and further develop its groundbreaking seaweed platform technology.

Major Retail Launch and Product Innovation

In a strategic move aimed at broadening its market reach, Umaro Foods is gearing up for a major retail launch in 2024. This expansion signifies the company's growing influence in the food industry and its commitment to making sustainable, seaweed-based products more accessible to consumers.

Beth Zotter, Umaro's CEO, expressed excitement about the company's foray into retail, stating, “People love our bacon because it nails the crispy, fatty texture of pork bacon. Our innovative, seaweed-based formula for bacon is what differentiates our product from other brands and is now patented in the US. After achieving incredible traction in restaurants across the country, with sales growing sixfold in one year, we’re looking forward to reaching new customers.”

In addition to unveiling its retail package for its flagship product, Umaro Foods is set to showcase two new products at Expo West: a Bacon, Egg & Cheese breakfast sandwich and Umaro Bacon Bits. These additions underscore Umaro's commitment to innovation and addressing consumer needs with novel food solutions.

Capital Efficient Production and Funding Achievements

Umaro Foods' next phase of growth is powered by an automated, high-throughput manufacturing process that will produce its plant-based bacon product at half the cost of pork bacon. Beth Zotter emphasized, “Scaling up is all about unit economics, and that’s why we used our last round of financing to prepare for high throughput, low capex manufacturing. We are laser-focused on undercutting Hormel and Smithfield on cost.”

This capital-efficient production is a pivotal element in Umaro's strategy to scale up and meet increasing demand.

The recent Seed 2 equity funding round, along with a grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E program for the application of Umaro’s seaweed processing technology to new products, are significant endorsements of the company's vision and technological advancements. The equity funding round was led by AgFunder and joined by Alexandria Venture Investments, Climate Capital Bio, Ponderosa Ventures, and early investor and NBA all-star Chris Paul.

Beth Zotter expressed gratitude, stating, "We are immensely grateful for the support from our investors and the DOE's ARPA-E program. This funding not only fuels our growth but also accelerates our mission to create sustainable, delicious alternatives that benefit both people and the planet. We’re excited to embark on this next chapter."